When washing laundry in a drum-type washing machine, the laundry is moved in the drum for about 40 to 120 minutes, thereby producing the mechanical washing action. During this process, the suds container; i.e., the drum, contains water which, in conjunction with the movement of the laundry, allows the dirt to be washed out. This movement produces wrinkles in the laundry, the wrinkling being aggravated during the final spinning operation, during which the laundry items are pressed against the wall of the drum by centrifugal force. In order to avoid wrinkling and/or to smooth the laundry, EP 1 657 345 A2 describes injecting steam into the drum while the drum is rotated. Disadvantageously, the dewrinkling effect produced in this manner may be minimal because the laundry is still wet and, therefore, can absorb only small amounts of steam. Moreover, an additional steam generating means is required, which adds to the technical complexity and cost of the washing machine.
EP 1 275 767 A1 describes generating the steam using the heating element that is provided for the wash liquid in the suds container. EP 1 555 338 A2 describes injecting the steam into the drum while the drum is rotated at a speed higher than that at which the laundry is pressed against the wall of the drum. During this process, existing wrinkles may become worse due to the forced contact against the wall of the drum. Since the wet laundry does not absorb or absorbs only small amounts of steam, only a minor dewrinkling effect is achieved.